In an interview similar to the one with Cinema 5d, Sony’s Kenji Tanaka says their priority is the customer. The broad-ranging conversation, includes Kenji’s opinion of the mirrorless competition, a commitment to APS-C, and the much-anticipated a7S III.
Particularly interesting to me are the quotes about the a9 because I’m street shooting with one now in Paris, out in the country too.
The experience has been remarkable, just like shooting jets, because of how fast the a9 is. I’ve heard other photographers say shooting with it feels like cheating, but that implies a photographer is getting away with something.
Riding around Giverny with an a9 on my hip.What I can tell you after using the a9 for fashion, sports, travel and street, the camera is really a massive technological advantage. Calculating focus at 60 times per second, while capturing at 20 frames per second with no blackout means the focus locks on instantly and tracks the subject while you see the frames in the viewfinder. To compare, Canon’s 1D-X Mark II maxes out at 14 fps and the Nikon D5 at 12 fps. The subjects can be jets, Parisians, or flowers in Monet’s Gardens.
Kenji says as much to DPR comparing the a9 to a Formula 1 car.
Looking at the Alpha 9, the stacked CMOS sensor is a good example of both a unique and innovative product. These kinds of things are a strength compared to our competitors.
But the stacked image sensor in the Alpha 9 is kind of like the engine in a formula 1 car
As I shared when the a9 launched, Sony listened to their customer and delivered an unrivaled feature set. While the press is comparing Sony to the just-launched competition from Nikon and Canon, Kenji confirms their focus on maintaining market leadership.
I don’t know what the impact of [Canon and Nikon entering the full-frame mirrrorless market] will be but we remain focused on creating new customers. That is our priority. Honestly speaking, I don’t care about competitors, I care about the customers. If customers need more functionality, or more quality, we’ll try to do it.
Read the rest of the interview for quotes on APS-C, medium format, and 3rd party lenses like Sigma.
Most important and the gem of DPR’s story is in this quote.
Cameras should support creators. Focusing on eyes or focusing on other shapes is a very complex action. Photographers just want to think about composition, or capturing a moment. So I want to remove the need for focus manipulation, or other manipulation. When it comes to autofocus, Sony is very dedicated to developing AI.
What I’ve been sharing about the a9 is the magic of being immersed in the moment, how it’s nearly telepathic. Sony will continue to improve their autofocus from the flagship a9 on down the line and into the a7s when released.
That’s Kando. And, explained further on the wall in the lobby of their San Diego offices.
I was very engaged in a new experience taking this photo of the lily pond at Monet’s Garden.
My daily shooter is Sony A1 with a vertical grip and various Sony lenses attached like the FE 20mm F1.8. Find more gear recommendations in our shop. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.